New Nars Goodies

Rarely do I read about a Nars product and think, “Oh my goodness! I must have that!” But, when I see the products in person, it’s a different story. There’s just something about Nars that calls to me from across the store… I don’t know whether it’s the sleek black packaging, the unusual colors, or the exotic names, but I’m always drawn to them.

I’d been anxiously awaiting my Sephora Birthday Gift this year. It was a Nars trio that included a mini Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella. I’ve heard great things about the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils, and being the red lipstick lover that I am, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Strangely, I wasn’t all that impressed by the quality of the pencil. The texture and formula reminded me a lot of the Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balms which are much, much cheaper, and in my opinion– just as good.

However, I quite enjoyed the Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien, which prompted me to explore some of the other Nars products. I ended up picking up a handful of items and thought I’d share. You can see swatches of all these items in the last photo of this post.

This may or may not have been a waste of money, but I enjoyed the sample size of Rikugien so much, that I decided to pick up a full size version. (The sample came in a plastic “pencil” that couldn’t be sharpened, and so I know it won’t take me long to go through it.)

The pencil is described as a “rose pink,” though I find that it is very close to my natural lip color. It looks a bit frosted in the bullet, but it applies with a satin finish. (Surprise, surprise for the “satin” lip pencil.) It’s quite comfortable to wear and lasted about 3 hours without food or drink. It wasn’t particularly moisturizing, nor was it particularly drying, through I have noticed it settling into the cracks of my lips when they’re chapped.

I also grabbed a Nars Pencil Sharpener. It’s dual ended and has a larger size made to fit the Nars Lip Pencils. I have a super old sharpener from Ulta that’s falling apart, and thought I’d pick up a new one. (For only $6, I figured it was probably about the same price as one I’d find at a drugstore.) I like that it’s smaller than my old one, and doesn’t take up as much room in my makeup bag.

Continuing with lip products…

I’ve never been a big fan of the orange lipstick trend. Orange is my absolute least favorite color, and so I’ve never had the desire to put it on my face. But then I saw the Nars Audacious Lipstick in Lana, and for a brief second, I was immediately transported to summer. I mean, seriously! Have you ever seen such a perfect warm weather shade?

I have a couple other Nars Audacious lipsticks in different shades, and I quite enjoy the formula. They’re a creamy matte texture that lasts a long time on the lips and doesn’t feel drying. I definitely feel like I’m going to be rocking this shade quite a bit during the warmer months.

The Nars Eyeshadow Duo in St-Paul-De-Vence is a gorgeous pair from the new spring collection. It’s described as a “shimmering nectarine,” but I don’t feel like that’s accurate. I feel like it’s much more accurate to say that the’yre a pale peach and light mauve. Both are shimmery, though the peach shade has more than the mauve shade. I’ll also put out a warning that the colors look nothing like the swatches on the Sephora website.

Nars eyeshadows are always hit or miss for me. (A lesson I learned the hard way after impulse buying the Narsissist palette.) Certain shades in their collection don’t apply as well as others, so I always make sure to test them in the store. Luckily, both of these shades work quite well, and I’m happy with their pigmentation and ability to be blended out smoothly.

Finally, in my latest quest to find a good contour, I picked up the Nars Contour Blush in the shade Paloma. I didn’t know anything about this product before I picked it up, and I’m still making up my mind on whether or not I like it.

The formula itself is fantastic. Nars is known for its blushes, and this one does not disappoint in pigmentation or longevity. Both shades are matte, which is quite nice since most Nars cheek products have at least a little shimmer in them. They also apply nicely and blend out smoothly.

The darker, contouring color is described as a “deep rose.” Looking at it in the pan and swatched on my arm, it appears to be a cool-toned brown. However, I have noticed a slight rosiness when applied to my cheeks. (It’s similar to Benefit Dallas but slightly less pink, if that’s possible?) It looks natural in the hollows of my cheeks, but I don’t like the effect when applied to my temples, the sides of my nose, or other areas I’ve tried to contour.

I don’t know if that explanation made any sense, so I recommend checking out this video by Emily Noel, if you’d like a more in-depth review. Her thoughts line up pretty well with mine.

On the other hand, I didn’t expect to like the matte highlight shade (I love a little bit of glow) but was pleasantly surprised by how much it brightened up my face. I was worried that it would look like regular old setting powder, but it actually makes quite the difference. I’ve found myself reaching for this highlight on natural makeup days to give my face a little extra somethin’.

Overall, I’m quite happy with all of the products I picked up. Perhaps I’ll do another FOTD using some of them in the future. Until then, I’m most excited to continue using the St-Paul-De-Vence Eyeshadow Duo and the Audacious Lipstick in Lana. I’ll keep playing with the Paloma blush to see if I can figure out the secret to it’s application. I may just start using it as a natural blush, particularly in the summer months when I need some extra color in my cheeks.